{"id":12450,"date":"2021-05-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lei.flywheelsites.com\/the-lean-post\/articles\/coachs-corner-understanding-the-value-of-a-concept-paper\/"},"modified":"2022-05-20T12:50:23","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T16:50:23","slug":"coachs-corner-understanding-the-value-of-a-concept-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/the-lean-post\/articles\/coachs-corner-understanding-the-value-of-a-concept-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Coach&#8217;s Corner: Understanding the Value of a Concept Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Be among the first to get the latest insights from LEI&#8217;s Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) thought leaders and practitioners. Subscribe to <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/share.hsforms.com\/1cgM78bPtQOK04fsI-K1weg48bn7?utm_campaign=LPPD&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsmi=116190485&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_wMAAAPlXrZ8Tp9OM4FqjQ-XMlubWnHmh61FwDVAYv2GVbzszDgDvuVSfp-0bhZR6o95zqHixIBpHl7F2mwDSM1AEqSw&amp;utm_content=116190485&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;__hstc=36651199.c3ea2c6df4225fd4dd357a49d10c37a2.1632254751982.1633109422721.1633113326207.44&amp;__hssc=36651199.12.1633113326207&amp;__hsfp=1359357230\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Design Brief<\/a><em>, LEI&#8217;s newsletter devoted to improving organizations&#8217; innovation capability.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I have read about the Concept Paper done by Chief Engineers at Toyota but have never seen one. It sounds a lot like the Marketing Requirement Document we use. How is it different?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for your question. I wish I could share a Concept Paper with you, but, frankly, I am not sure that doing so, by itself, would be particularly helpful in answering your question. So, let me do the best I can to explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For those who are not familiar with the Concept Paper: it is the guiding document the Chief Engineer at Toyota uses to define the product scope and project goals. It is a brief document that describes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>customer\/market needs,<\/li><li>competitive analyses,<\/li><li>product targets,<\/li><li>timeline,<\/li><li>expected financial outcomes.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately, the Concept Paper strives to clarify what is value-added in the eyes of the customer and what is important for the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the surface, most of the information listed above are items most project teams consider today. However, in most circumstances, each part is led by a different group at different times during the project, leading to misunderstandings that cause extra work and frustration. In this situation, everyone in the organization is looking at the product through their specific lens, so nobody is necessarily \u201cright or wrong\u201d in their viewpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The difference with \u2014 and the value of \u2014 the Concept Paper is more about the process used to align the message and obtain buy-in from all internal stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/understand-b4-2.png\" alt=\"Lppd principles\" class=\"wp-image-12432\" width=\"559\" height=\"574\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/understand-b4-2.png 900w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/understand-b4-2-190x195.png 190w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/understand-b4-2-150x154.png 150w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/understand-b4-2-600x617.png 600w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/understand-b4-2-292x300.png 292w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/understand-b4-2-768x790.png 768w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/understand-b4-2-375x386.png 375w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/understand-b4-2-32x32.png 32w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 559px) 100vw, 559px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Concept Paper is not a one-and-done, fill-in-the-blanks document. It evolves over the study, or concept, phase of a project. The first version kicks off the study phase by providing guidance to the team on what the product must be and what it is not to be! This first version is based on a lot of going to the gemba to understand what customers need and value. At this stage, the Concept Paper is used to challenge and motivate the organization to create new value for its customers while providing guardrails that prevent teams from looking for solutions that may not address the customers\u2019 and organization\u2019s core needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the study phase, the Concept Paper prompts the team members to ask questions and challenge their assumptions about their customers\u2019 needs and what they truly value. The team continues to gain a deeper understanding about their customers by clarifying the inherent paradoxes in their stated and observed needs. They are also exploring alternatives to close knowledge gaps so they can ultimately deliver that value. Invariably, conflicts will arise between needs, wants, and capabilities. The Concept Paper makes those questions and conflicts visible and helps constructively focus the team<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>toward understanding and addressing the critical tradeoffs that they, inevitably, must make to design a great and profitable product!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As they are working through these tradeoffs, the project team engages key stakeholders for their input to clarify and align internal goals with the external customers\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:51px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/info.lean.org\/understanding-before-executing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DB-understand-before-you-execute-pdf-copy.jpg\" alt=\"Design Brief Understanding Before Executing PDF download\" class=\"wp-image-19281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DB-understand-before-you-execute-pdf-copy.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DB-understand-before-you-execute-pdf-copy-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DB-understand-before-you-execute-pdf-copy-150x75.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DB-understand-before-you-execute-pdf-copy-375x188.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DB-understand-before-you-execute-pdf-copy-190x95.jpg 190w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of the study phase, the Concept Paper is frozen along with the product concept. At this point, it becomes a contract between the team and the organization. The team is committing to deliver the value within the scope defined in the Concept Paper, and the organization is committing to provide the needed support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the project team enters the execution phase, the Concept Paper keeps team members centered on their mission. It also effectively helps to enroll all the organization\u2019s stakeholders provide their input and resources to help the project team successfully deliver the stated value to the customer and a profitable value stream to the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think of a concept paper as the outline of a story you are trying to write. A good story starts with a solid outline. Without one, your story will not come together cohesively, and no one will understand or want to buy it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Concept Paper&#8217;s integral role at Toyota homes in on the process, encouraging questions and deeper understandings along the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"12549,11642,7421,3738,4376,12565","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - 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